What's Cooking in the Kitchen

After six years of living in our home with the honey oak colored cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, we've decided to pull the trigger - of our paint sprayer that is! We're taking the project in small, manageable steps since we are doing it all ourselves and only when we have enough free time on a weekend to get things done. It's tricky with small children and a very full schedule, but it's going well and I'm so happy with the results!

A Unicorn Birthday Party for a Special 3 Year Old

Carolyn's best friend Olivia turned 3 years old a month before her, so Carolyn got to witness the fun and amazingness that is a big birthday party. I've got to say, my friend threw the most awesome unicorn themed party for her sweet little daughter and I can't wait to show you it!

Thanksgiving Table Decor and Friendsgiving 2018

Every year I hold a small Friendsgiving potluck with my friends. We love the special time to get together and catch-up. I also love an excuse to set up a pretty table. This year I let Carolyn help me with the table decor.

Cheater Store Bought Thanksgiving Crafts

I love doing crafts with my daughter, but sometimes I tire of having to think up ideas, or find the perfect idea on Pinterest. So for the sake of just doing something fun I will impulse buy a craft at the store. I bought these two little Thanksgiving craft kits at the craft store thinking they would be fun and easy, one was, the other wasn't. Can you guess which is which?

Carolyn's Trip to the Pumpkin Patch 2018

I love all the fun activities of fall, in particular going to the pumpkin patch! This year for the first time we went to the Irvine Regional Park Pumpkin Patch with my lifelong friend Christen. It was so much fun, and Carolyn had the best time!

Anza 2018

Typically our Anza reenactment is held in the spring, but due to some health issues that our host was having we had to delay. Happily he is doing much better and invited us all up for some fun this last weekend.

Trafalgar Day 2018

This past Sunday we celebrated the British victory at the battle of Trafalgar. We had a wonderful picnic celebration in honor of Admiral Nelson. Please enjoy my photographic storytelling of the event.

Family in Town

My cousin Auburn and her daughter Maggie are back for another visit. We don't have as many adventures planned this time, but instead plan to stay home and do lots of fun fall activities. Baking pumpkin cookies is on the agenda! It was so cute the way they were delighted to see each other again. Maggie was tired from waking up early and driving the long drive to get here, so she crawled into bed. Carolyn excitedly climbed into bed with her. I know they would have loved to sleep in the same bed, but I doubt there would have been much sleeping going on...

Playford to the Present Ball

This weekend for the first time ever we bravely decided that we were good enough dancers to attend the esteemed Playford to the Present Ball in Pasadena, CA. In the past we've always felt inadequate to attend this ball, because the dances are not taught there and the caller only calls the first round or two and then leaves you on your own. I'm so glad that he does this, because it is just magical when suddenly you realize the whole room is dancing in unison to the music. Below is a group photo of our friends that we regularly dance with in Anaheim.

Trip to the San Diego Zoo

Ben and I decided that we wanted to celebrate our birthdays this year by going to the San Diego Zoo. This was super exciting for us because Carolyn has never been to the zoo. She loves talking about different animals and it's adorable the way she'll describe them. For example the kangaroo goes boing boing! And of course the lion is described by his "roar."

Getty Villa with a Toddler & Vacation Fun

I've had this folder of fun pictures just sitting on my desktop feeling unloved, so it's time I shared with you the fun we had earlier this summer. Every summer my best friend Rebekah's cousin goes on vacation and she very generously offers up her house as a free AirB&B for us all to stay in. We love this wonderfully affordable friendcation! We always make time to visit the beach while we're there, in fact this is where we took Carolyn for her very first beach trip & the Getty Center back when she was only a month old, you can see her adorable pictures here! This year we decided to take her to the Getty Villa, it was so awesome!

Minnie Mouse Party - Carolyn's 2nd Birthday

As promised yesterday I'm back today to continue with the mouse fun - Carolyn's 2nd Birthday party! Ben created this special birthday invitation and cut it out on his fancy cutting machine at work (think Silhouette on steroids!)

Carolyn's 2nd Birthday at Disneyland

Before Carolyn was even born we had decided that for her 2nd birthday we would take her to Disneyland and get annual passes again that year. As her birthday neared it became clear that there was only one type of party that would befit her, a Minnie Mouse birthday party!

Summer Fun Summer - Colorado Trip

At the beginning of this year my cousin Jamie moved away from me. I miss her so badly but I totally understand why she needed to move because now her cost of living is lower and she can be a stay at home mommy, which was her dream! The benefit of her moving is that now I get to visit her in beautiful Colorado! Several members of Ben's family live in Colorado too and this was our first time getting to visit them! It was such an amazing and wonderful trip let me share some of it with you!

Carolyn's 1st Official Tea Party

Carolyn is obsessed with playing tea party and I've been waiting till she could finally attend a real tea party. Luckily I did not have to wait long because one of my friends from our dancing group enjoys hosting tea parties and invited us!

Summer Fun Summer - Cousin Visit!

Wow-wee has this summer been flying by! We have been jam packed with lots of fun things going on, leaving very little time for blogging. Two weeks ago my cousin Auburn came to visit with her beautiful daughter Maggie. It was so wonderful seeing Carolyn and Maggie become close friends. And we had the best time taking them around Southern California.

 

Mother's Day 2018

Another Mother's Day has come and gone and I thought I'd share some of the fun pictures with you!

Visit to the Air Show at March Air Force Base

Ben has been itching to take Carolyn to an air show since its obvious that she shares his love of air planes. Last weekend we had a wonderful time visiting March Air Force Base for their annual air show.  We were so happy that some friends and their family could come too!

Easter Celebration 2018

For me the Easter celebration actually starts the week before on Palm Sunday. When I was a child I would proudly proclaim that I liked Palm Sunday better than Easter. It's a day to celebrate the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem. People were so excited for him to come they waved palm branches and laid their cloaks down on the road for his processional. I loved parading around the church waiving the palm branch, yelling hosanna! I was so excited that Carolyn was able to partake in the tradition  this year too!

Colonial Ball

Finally a colonial era ball that we could attend! Ben and I were so excited to be able to go to this ball. We've been to countless Regency balls but this was our first Colonial/Georgian.